Learn More

Below are listed some resources for learning more about Dakota people, about US-Indian relations nationally and in Minnesota, and about specific sites highlighted in the Bdote Memory Map. Too many of the links are outdated. The work to research and update to current working resources is underway. Please keep in mind that history is created from specific cultural perspectives. Many of the primary resources that present Dakota history and identity, and US-Indian relations, are based on assumptions that not only arise from non-Dakota perspective, but actively exclude any indigenous perspective. Challenging these assumptions is much more than a matter of political correctness; it is a requirement for any accurate understanding of our past. For instance, the origin of the Dakota War has often been presented as an incident in which Dakota youth killed a farm family, an event that somehow sparked a violent territory-wide conflict that necessitated the punishment of all Dakota people. Such a portrayal, illogical though it may be, makes sense from a specific cultural perspective; and only from that perspective. In using any historical resource, it is important to question the perspective from which the resource is created, and how that perspective shapes the presentation of facts. These resources are only a beginning, an initial supplement to the introductory information in this site. Sources with a Dakota point of view are rare. Most of these resources express information from a dominant culture point of view. For example, “This region was acquired by the U.S. government by treaty in 1805.” The word “acquired” is clearly not chosen by a Dakota writer.

Preserve Camp Coldwater Coalition Groups come together to help preserve the Coldwater Spring area. This site includes links to new stories, articles, and legislation dating back 10+ years.

Day One – Dakota Reclaiming Coldwater Lots of raw footage of the Coldwater ceremony site, as well as Jim Anderson talking about the purpose of the ceremony and the decision of city officials to let the ceremony occur peacefully.

Day Three – Dakota Reclaiming Coldwater The Dakota celebrating are told that their time is up at 3pm the following day, but the ceremony has been scheduled to last into the night. Jim Anderson speculates on what he hopes will happen.

Coldwater Hearing

On Feb 23, 2009, a open house was held at the bureau of mines in Minneapolis. Several Dakota speak about the future of Coldwater Spring and ask that the state and the national parks service return the 27-acre site to the Dakota people.

Fort Snelling

Web Resources

The Dakota Commemorative March. This 7-day 15-mile march is held annually to remember the forced march and imprisonment of the 1700+ Dakota men, women, and children who surrendered to the United States in 1862. Includes eyewitness stories and links to local tribal web sites.

May 2008 Wagon-Train at Fort Snelling Raw footage of the protest at Fort Snelling. Several Dakota lay down in front of covered wagons during a reenactment/celebration of the Sesquicentennial. They are arrested.